Chapter 20: The “Good” News
AT dinner, Iris’s mother and father were in a disgustingly good mood while Nigel looked deeply confused.
“Just between us, Iris, I have some good news for you,” her father said.
Iris’s smile stiffened.
“You’ve been chosen as a Holy Maiden candidate, and—this is very confidential, mind you—His Highness Prince Reseda wishes to ask for your hand.”
Iris looked at him in alarm. “Whatever does he need it for?”
“Hahaha! Funny girl. He’s asking for your hand in marriage, obviously!”
“NO! I refuse! I don’t want to die!” she screamed. This was the game rebalancing at work, trying to force her onto a route without her consent! Stupid game!!!
Iris’s parents both looked at her, startled by her outburst. “What’s wrong, Iris?” her mother asked gently.
At this, she snapped to her senses. Two can play at this game—I’ll just have to fight back! Iris shot her a tearful look.
“Many will disapprove if I’m chosen as princess consort. It hurts to think I’ll be made into a laughingstock for all of high society.” Iris hung her head in shame.
“If it’s what the prince himself desires, then who would dare criticize him?” Her father shrugged.
“Quite the contrary—my presence would dishonor him in the eyes of the gentry! My soilpox scars are proof that I’ve been punished by God, and if His Highness were to take someone like me as his wife, they would surely call it sacrilege. The thought pains me, Father!”
Iris buried her face in her hands and sobbed...or rather, pretended to. Everyone at the table froze. This was a topic her family had politely avoided around her, but one that had most certainly come up in private.
“Please…I beg of you, Father, protect me!” Iris beseeched him, her eyes full of tears. “Please, Father…!”
“You have nothing to worry about, my dear,” he told her with a sweet, loving smile. “All you have to do is win the title of Holy Maiden.”
Aagh, you BLOCKHEAD! This is normalcy bias at work!!!
“Father, no! Surely you realize such a thing would be impossible for me. Our family ancestry has next to no mana! Not once have we ever produced a Holy Maiden!”
“So? You’ll be the first.”
“No, no, no! I really won’t!” Iris shot back on reflex, but her father didn’t bat a lash.
“As of now, there are only three Holy Maiden candidates, including you.”
“…Three?”
Iris frowned. In HanaKoro, there were only ever two, so where did this third one come from? Was it someone who, for whatever reason, never managed to enroll at the Academy during the events of the game? I don’t like the sound of that…
“Keep this between us, but…I’m told one of the candidates is a low-born girl. Poor thing doesn’t stand a chance. As for the other, her father bears the same title as I do, but if worse comes to worst, you can simply overpower her in a duel.”
Iris swallowed hard. Surely, Father didn’t have this innocent girl assassinated before the events of HanaKoro, did he?
“…Are you talking about murder?”
He looked at Iris and smiled softly…a smile that slowly grew into the wicked grin of a hunter cornering his prey.
“Murder? Oh, Iris, how I dearly admire your ambitious streak! But remember, we are a family of knights. A true aristocrat fights fairly, with no foul play. Understood?”
He spoke to Iris as though the whole thing was her idea, and it made her dizzy. Why are you lecturing ME about this? And for that matter, you should know that none of the other high-born girls stand a chance against me in single combat! I’m the only one with any formal training! What part of that is a “fair fight” to you?!
“I can’t possibly duel her, Father!”
“Well now, I’m glad to see you’re in high spirits again! Let us finish our meal!”
Iris sank into despair. Ugh, this crafty old weasel is never going to listen to me! Oh well. At least now I know my family won’t try to assassinate anyone. Wait, but…perhaps it’s precisely that sort of attitude that led Iris to stab Camille in the game!
After that, Iris ate her duck confit in silence.
Meanwhile, Nigel felt conflicted. From the moment the twins were born, he had spent his whole life right by Iris’s side, and now it felt like she was going to leave him behind. Technically, Iris was the older sibling by a few minutes, but Nigel had been taught to look out for her because she was a girl. To him, it was his sworn duty…and yet now, his only choice was to sit there and listen.
Lately, Iris had grown close to Prince Reseda, earned the favor of a Fairy Leader, won the respect of a royal mage, gained access to the Temple of Magic…and most recently, she had developed a vaccine. She was accomplishing things Nigel never would have dreamed of. Overcome with an inexplicable sense of panic, he balled his hands into fists under the table. He had known all along that they couldn’t stay together forever—that girls were married off earlier than boys. But he wasn’t ready for it to happen so soon. Once Iris was married, the distance between them would grow. Fortunately, the fact that she was opposed to said marriage offered him some small relief.
Quietly, he wished he could be her only knight for just a little longer.
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AFTER dinner, Iris tied her hair up in a ponytail, donned her horse-riding gear, and headed out to the stables. This was her last resort—she would just have to negotiate with Reseda directly, under the cover of night. But as she painstakingly tied the saddle to her horse, she sensed a presence directly behind her.
Oh no!
Iris crouched down and prepared to deliver a headbutt to her mystery assailant. They saw it coming and backed away. Iris grabbed her dagger, still wrapped in cloth, and whirled around—
“…Nigel?”
“Are you sure you’re a proper lady, Iris?”
“A lady of the House of Chevalier, I’m afraid.”
Nigel raised both hands in utter defeat—a show of surrender, in other words.
“Oh, Nigel, I’m so glad it’s you. You know, if I wasn’t your sister, you might have successfully snuck up on me.”
“And if I wasn’t your brother, you might have successfully slammed your skull into my jaw.”
He smiled softly as she gazed at him. Only Iris could go toe-to-toe with him.
“Did you come here to stop me?”
“I mean, surely you realize how reckless it is, right? Are you really going to sneak into the palace in the middle of the night? If they catch you, they might punish our whole family.”
“Then I’ll just have to make sure I don’t get caught.”
“Good grief. You sound like Father,” Nigel muttered weakly. Indeed, their father was a stubborn man who would go to great lengths to achieve his ends. But the thought gave her pause. Iris wasn’t trying to be like him at all.
“Well, I don’t have any other choice. I’ll never be the Holy Maiden, and I don’t want to be the princess consort, either…but at this rate, they’ll try to force me.”
“Do you detest His Highness that strongly?”
“I wouldn’t say that I detest him, but I’m certainly not in love with him.”
“That’s just how it goes in high society,” he argued, though her response pleased him a tiny bit.
“Maybe so, but even then, I see no reason to rush into marriage.”
Iris bit her lip. She knew Reseda was just going to fall in love with Camille anyway, so she needed to avoid the topic of betrothal until the two of them had the chance to meet.
“Iris, let’s put it off for tonight,” Nigel pleaded. He wanted to stop the engagement just as badly as Iris did, but they were in an all-around disadvantageous position.
“This is the only chance I’ll get. I need to turn Prince Reseda down before Father meets with him tomorrow. Otherwise, the two of them will set it in stone.”
“Calm down, Iris. Father won’t be meeting with His Highness until the afternoon. You could meet with him tomorrow morning instead, couldn’t you?”
“…Tomorrow morning?”
“We’ll follow proper procedure and send a messenger. I’ll even come with you! Okay?”
Iris nodded. “Very well… You’ve really grown into a reliable young man, you know that?” she remarked fondly, looking back over the years.
“You overstate me, truly,” Nigel replied.
But his pained expression was hidden from view by the shadow of night.
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BACK in her bedroom, Iris called out to the fairies; one poked its head out from inside a ringlet. She hadn’t yet told Nigel or her parents that her hair was a magical portal.
“I’d like you to go and see Prince Reseda.”
“How come?”
“I absolutely must speak with him first thing tomorrow morning. Could I ask you to deliver a letter to him?”
“Sure thing!”
Iris wrote a short message onto a sheet of white stationery and entrusted it to the fairy, who disappeared into the darkness. Admittedly, she could have sent one of the servants as a messenger, but she couldn’t risk her father putting a stop to it.
Sure enough, her suspicions were proven correct the very next morning, when Nigel came to apologize to her. He had tried his best, but he couldn’t possibly supersede their father’s orders. But Iris had seen this coming, so she thanked him nonetheless.
And so, Iris decided to go to the palace alone.